Back when Sam Smith and Demi Lovato first announced that they would be collaborating together, the news broke the internet. And subsequently, with the release of their track, ‘I’m Ready’, fans across the globe were thrilled. The song was bold, sultry and came with quite the moral boost. Now, the pair have arrived with yet another goodie for their fans. It’s the behind the scenes footage of this track.
The video documents what the two were aiming to create with their Olympic-themed visual. This idea was born out of the need to reclaiming a space for queer people everywhere, according to the director, Jora Frantzis.
“For a lot of the gay community, sports was always kind of a traumatizing experience in high school,” she explained. “So Sam thought it would be very empowering to kind of take over high school sports in the way that we did, and almost kind of taking the power back.”
Each Olympic event brought something different to the table. For example, Smith’s wrestling match was meant to be sensual and powerful, finding beauty in the physicality. But then Smith’s track race on the other hand arrived with elegance. With the drag queens marching down, it wasn’t a call for attention, but one for respect. Gushing about the video, Sam Smith said, “I think that last shot, my dreams came true, for sure.”
In another clip, Rory Gory and Shane Michael Singh from The Trevor Project applauded Sam Smith and Demi Lovato for their dedication toward promoting and celebrating the LGBTQ community. They pointed out that there were people from the LGBTQ community both in front of the camera and behind it. And that’s what made this experience even more authentic and wholesome.
The video concludes with Sam Smith telling Demi Lovato, “[It’s] a queer Olympics … I think we’ve actually made the gayest video of all time.”
As far as this project goes, it’s been a treat to watch them explore this theme from a different angle.